Once Upon a Hogwarts Play
by NerdGirl95
Summary: Harry's in tights, Luna's floating in the air and Fred and George are dressed as girls. What in the name of Merlin could be going on? Why, it's the Hogwarts play of course!


**Written for the Quidditch League Round 12: fairytales (Keeper - Cinderella)**

**Once Upon a Hogwarts Play**

Once this thing was all over, Harry thought he may just kill Ron. After all, it was his fault that he was standing here, in tights that revealed way more than he was comfortable with, about to make a fool of himself in front of not just the entire school, but all the friends and family who had decided it would be fun to come along and watch. As if they didn't have enough reasons to think him insane already, he was just about to add fuel to the fire.

Although really, if he were to blame anyone, he should probably blame Dumbledore. After all, Ron wouldn't have insisted he "protect Ginny's virtue" if Dumbledore hadn't decided to do this stupid play in the first place.

_Four months ago_

_It was the first night back at Hogwarts after and long, and largely uneventful, summer holiday, and the Welcoming Feast was starting to wind up when Dumbledore rose from his seat and motioned for their attention once more._

_"Well students I hope you enjoyed that feast as much as I did. Now, before you all trot off the bed, I have one final announcement I would like to make. This year, in order to raise the spirits of the school in these troubling times, the Staff and I have decided to produce a play, to be performed on New Year's Eve to the school and any members of the public who wish to attend. The play will be based off the Muggle fairytale _Cinderella_. Those wishing to audition can put their names on the sign-up sheets in each Common Room, and will then be notified of their audition time and location. I urge as many of you to be involved in this as possible. Now, do enjoy your first night back at Hogwarts. Off you go, pip pip!"_

_Everyone left the Great Hall in a frenzy of excitement following Dumbledore's announcement. Muggleborns and Half-bloods were explaining the fairytale to their friends, people were speculating as to who would get what role, and the Slytherins were trying to look as if the whole affair had had no impact on them whatsoever. It was clear to Harry that no one would be going to sleep soon, although he was sure it would all blow over soon and he wouldn't hear much of it until the actual show. Boy was he wrong._

_A Week Later_

_Harry stumbled into the Common Room the Saturday after Dumbledore's announcement to find Ron and Ginny fighting loudly, faces red and hands waving everywhere._

_"I'm fifteen Ronald, I'm not a little girl anymore! You can't tell me what I can and can't do!"_

_"Of course I can, I'm your brother. And besides, you have no idea what you're getting in to! Hermione was telling me the whole story. Cinderella gets married at the end. And she kisses the Prince!"_

_"So? I've kissed people before Ron, I'm not a baby! So get your overprotective head around the fact that I _am_ auditioning for Cinderella, and I _will_ get the part!"_

_After that somewhat shocking pronouncement, Ginny stormed out through the portrait hole, leaving Harry with an irate Ron._

_"Auditioning for the play…don't know what she's thinking…she'll get taken advantage of…Mum will kill me…thought she had more sense…"_

_With Ron like this, Harry thought it wise to just sit on one of the couches and wait for his best mate to come to him, which unfortunately was sooner than he'd expected._

_"Harry! Surely you think this is a bad idea too?"_

_"I don't know Ron, Ginny isn't a kid anymore. What's so bad about her acting in the play?"_

_"Have you seen who's auditioning for the Prince?! McLaggen and Smith and even Zabini! Ginny's actually a pretty good actress, with all the times she's had to get out of mischief at home. She'll get the part for sure. And these guys will just take advantage of her!"_

_"Well go for the role yourself!"_

_"I can't do that, that's just gross! But I could get someone else to. Maybe Dean…nah, he's shown too much interest in her lately. Neville? No, he'd never do it. Seamus? Nup, don't trust him, he's too womanising. Hey I have an idea! Why don't you do it?"_

_"Me? I don't know Ron, you know how I feel about attention. And besides, Ginny had that crush on me remember. Isn't that just as dangerous?"_

_"Nah, she's over that now. You're like her brother, except you're not her brother, so it isn't as gross. Yep, that sounds like a good plan. I'll put your name down now."_

_"No wait, I didn't say I'd do it. Ron…Ron!"_

Present Day

And so somehow Harry had ended up not only auditioning for the part of Prince Charming, but actually getting cast in the role, much to Ron's glee and everyone else's confusion. The actual rehearsal bit wasn't so bad. It had turned out that the cast was made up largely of Harry's friends and many rehearsals were spent doubled over in laughter.

As well as Harry and Ginny, Luna had been cast as the fairy Godmother (and revelled in being able to float above the stage), Seamus and Katie Bell were the King and Queen, and Lee Jordan was the Town Crier. After some begging and persuasion from Ginny and many repetitions of "I'm only in this for you, so you owe me big time" from Harry, Ron and Hermione agreed to join the ensemble, on the condition they had little to no lines. But the funniest – and most surprising – casting decision was Fred and George.

As soon as the play was announced, Fred and George decided they wanted to be in it, in some way shape or form. But when they found out Ginny was Cinderella, they had set their eyes on a specific pair of characters. Hogwarts gossip had centred for weeks on the sole fact that the very male Fred and George Weasley had been cast as the Ugly Stepsisters, beating out the likes of Lavender Brown, the Patil twins and Romilda Vane. Yet Harry couldn't think of anyone better than the Weasley Twins to get the roles. He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to make it through the show without bursting out laughing at their antics. He was just glad that their funniest moments happened when he was off stage.

Speaking of making it through the show, he didn't know if he'd be able to make it through without being sick either. He could hear the Great Hall, which had been transformed into a large theatre, filling up with students, and knew the public would arrive in only a few minutes as well. The only thing that was standing between him and total, eternal humiliation was little under half an hour.

Maybe he could run away. Or set fire to the curtains. Or break a piece of the set. Merlin, only ten minutes to go. Maybe he could cast a mass memory charm, so they all forgot why they were here? Or maybe there'd be an attack on the school right now, and he'd get out of it. He'd take Voldemort over this any day, even if he had to fight him in tights. Oh sweet Merlin's hat, the audience had just gone silent.

Just as he was about to get himself into a real panic, he registered someone coming to stand beside him.

"You're going to be fine, you know that don't you? You're a good actor Harry, you just need to believe in yourself."

With that, Ginny walked on stage to begin the show, leaving a slightly dazed Harry behind. He couldn't deny that he had developed a small crush on the girl over the course of rehearsals. They were actor opposite each other after all. But she was _Ginny Weasley_, his best mate's little sister, and totally out of bounds. Plus Ron reckoned she was totally over him in any case. But he couldn't deny how pretty she looked on that stage under the bright lights, even in tattered robes with a filthy bandana covering her bright red hair.

The audience's laughter snapped him back to the present. It appeared Fred and George had just made their first appearance, albeit a small one. After ordering Ginny to make them more food, they flounced back off stage, giving Harry his cue to be ready to go on for his first scene.

With Ginny's smile as they passed in the wings as a talisman against the audience, Harry was able to block out everything besides what was happening on the stage. And when he walked back off, he was shocked to hear thundering applause instead of booing.

For the rest of the show, he stood in the wings, drinking in the sight of Ginny whenever she was acting, and then using that as a sort of bolster against any panic he may have otherwise felt when it was his turn to act. And when he finally got to share the stage with her, he didn't have to fake his reaction.

Sure, he had seen her during the dress rehearsal, but somehow she looked even prettier tonight, in that pale blue ball gown with her hair pulled up in an elegant bun. The sight of her took his breath away, and although she'd never done it in rehearsals, he was sure he wasn't imagining the nervous smile she gave him as she walked onto the stage.

After that, everything was a blur. From the reactions of the audience, he assumed he delivered his lines correctly, and got his entrance and exit cues right, but all he could think about was her. He felt an odd disappointment when she returned to her tattered clothes, but brushed it aside as he watched Fred and George's hilarious attempts to fit the shoe on their feet.

Before he knew it, it was time for the final scene, in which Ginny – sorry, Cinderella – would finally be his. This was the scene he had been most nervous about, as they were meant to "kiss". They had decided quite early on that it would only be a stage kiss, as a real one would be too awkward, but now he was wishing they hadn't. As he leaned down however, it was evident she was thinking the same thing, as she moved her head ever so slightly at the last minute, causing their lips to connect.

Later, as he sat with Ginny cuddled up next to him in front of the fire in the Common Room, Harry thought he just might have to send Ron a thank you note. And Dumbledore.


End file.
